A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

The present section provides a description of the lexical markers employed in LIS to convey temporal information. The other strategies, namely the use of temporal adverbials and inflection of the verb sign by means of suprasegmental (non-manual) features will be explored in LEXICON 3.5 and MORPHOLOGY 3.2 respectively. 

            To anchor an event in the past or in the future, LIS signers may resort to two lexical markers: done (a)and to_be_done (b). They always follow the main verb defining the event.

 

             

            a.      done

 

             

            b.      to_be_done 

 

The sign done expresses anteriority and indicates that the event happened before the time of utterance, as exemplified below.

 

 

 

            g-i-a-n-n-i house buy done

            ‘Gianni bought a house.’ (recreated from Zucchi, 2009: 101)

 

The sign done can also express anteriority with respect to a reference time specified by a temporal adverbial.

 

 

 

            yesterday time three afternoon g-i-a-n-n-i eat done

            ‘Yesterday at 3, Gianni had already eaten.’ (based on Zucchi et al., 2010: 201)

 

The lexical marker to_be_done indicates that the action or event will take place after the time of utterance, as shown below, or after a reference time.

 

 

 

            g-i-a-n-n-i house buy to_be_done

            ‘Gianni will buy a house.’ (recreated from Zucchi, 2009: 101)

 

The lexical tense markers are not employed when temporal information is conveyed through time adverbials and the information can be gathered by the discourse context. In the example below, the first sentence specifies that the action of going to the movies occurred yesterday and the following sentence is understood as describing a past action as well, although lacking an overt marker specifying the tense. The temporal adverbial yesterday introducing the first sentence marks the whole event as past.

 

 

 

            yesterday g-i-a-n-n-i cinema go_a maria meet_a

            ‘Yesterday Gianni went to the cinema. Maria met him there.’ (based on Zucchi, 2009: 102)